NBA backer king

Chapter 485 Upgrade and reinforcement of Jazz Pacers
At this time, general manager Jerry West ignored these operational matters. He was having a headache, how to build a championship lineup suitable for Old K.

Small forward, he found a good substitute for Chris Mullin, the 28-year-old swingman Rick Fox, Jordan's North Carolina alumni, the main small forward of the Green Team in the first two seasons.

Last season, he averaged 35 minutes per game. He was able to provide 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals. He shot 45% from the field. He was able to shoot [-]-pointers.

Moreover, Fox joined the Lakers as a free agent, not because the Lakers have a big contract. On the contrary, he offered a seven-year long contract, but the total contract amount is only 2200 million, and the contract for next season is 100 million US dollars.

He is very satisfied with this signing, which can be regarded as a powerful reinforcement.

In addition, old K called a few days ago and talked about Nick Van Exel. He wants to find another point guard to come in now.

There is a rookie Fisher last year in the team, but his talent and strength are mediocre. He wants to find a better one.

There is Nash next door, who performed well as a substitute last year, but like Kobe, he can't stand up as a main player, and he has no confrontation ability and no defense. It is not suitable for the old K's main line against point guards.

Beside Old K, as a point guard, the offense can be mediocre, and the organization can be mediocre, but the passing ability, fast break ability, ball speed, and defensive ability must be strong.

At the No. 34 position, he has already found a veteran with a basic salary, four-time All-Star point guard Mark Price, this veteran was selected to the best first team once and the best third team three times. He is 27 years old this year and averaged 11.3 minutes per game last season.

It's hard to find a good main point guard. If he really can't find one, he plans to let Mark Price play the false main force, Fisher as the backup, and Kobe can also support it.

In terms of the second position, he wants to trade the king's signature star Mitch Richmond, let Richmond play the main force for two years, and Kobe should also grow up.

He had previously contacted his agent.Richmond said that he also wants to come here, because he is almost 33 years old now and has entered the late stage of his career. He wants to take advantage of his current state to fight for the championship.

Moreover, Richmond told the Lakers that the old K had recruited him when he was in the Suns before, and he really hoped to be teammates with the old K, and said that he could reduce some shots.

Richmond's contract with the Kings has two remaining seasons of 550 million. The contract is not big, 300 million next season and 250 million next season.

He has just submitted a trade application, and the bargaining chip given is Nick Van Exel, but the King does not need a point guard, and the first trade application failed.

Now he doesn't have any bargaining chips in his hands. The draft picks don't want the Lakers, which is a bit of a headache.

But it's not true that the Lakers have a signing right, which the Kings really want.

In the 96 draft, the Lakers selected European player Peja Stojakovic. Currently, this player is still playing in Europe. There is one season left in his contract there.

With this signing right, Richmond can be exchanged, but Peja is only 20 years old, and Richmond is close to 33 years old, he is actually reluctant to change.

And Peja can play from the second position to the fourth position. The Lakers also lack such a person now, especially at the power forward position.

But now he really can't find a star-level shooting guard, so he can only grit his teeth and write Peja's signing rights on the quotation.

The Kings reacted quickly to the offer this time, because the Kings wanted to pick Peja during the draft last year, but they were cut off by the Lakers. Now they have the opportunity to get it back, just right.

As for Richmond, who has been with the Kings for six years, he is getting older, and the next contract will definitely go up, which is not worthwhile, so the management decided to give up.

In this way, the transaction agreement was reached, and after the alliance approved it, the transaction was completed.

With the main No. [-] position settled, West will then consider how to find a main power forward.

In this regard, West has a candidate. The Tiger and the Bulls have not negotiated a contract extension, and they have already announced that they will retire.

As far as he knows, no team has contacted Da Chong at present. Da Chong is injured all over, and he is 36 years old and has a weird personality. This is the reason why he is not popular in the free market.

But when he contacted Big Worm's agent, Darren Prince, Prince clearly rejected him, and the reason he gave was that Big Worm didn't get along well with Old K.

In desperation, West had to find another person to beat him.

It's a pity that good power forwards are more difficult to find than guards, and he couldn't find them for a while.

He tried Rasheed Wallace's idea, and Colangelo Jr. didn't directly reject it, but he didn't have the right bargaining chip and the deal was unsuccessful.

……

At this time, Popovich of the Spurs made a decision about the David Robinson deal.

The plan failed, and team reconstruction has become the only result. He told all the teams that want David Robinson that whoever can give him four unprotected first-round picks (signs within the next three years) can take the Admiral.Moreover, the draft picks are restricted for teams, such as the Lakers, Pacers, Trail Blazers, Knicks and other teams.

Several teams began to collect first-round picks one after another. How could other teams give this stuff easily? It is not easy.

In the end, Danny Ainge used the contacts left to him by the Cardinals, and traded the Green Team's first-round picks for the next two years. He took the lead in getting four first-round picks and also got David Robinson.

After the deal was announced to the public, all branches of the league chanted "Wolf is coming".

ABC TV commentator Magic Johnson said in an interview with the media: "The Green team was poor last season, but their strength is not weak. Last season, eight players averaged 10+ points per game, and the lineup is very thick. Now that they have David Robinson and Kidd, if the combination is good, there should be a qualitative change and leap in strength. This will make this veteran giants a championship-level team in the first tier. After Bird retires, they will participate in the championship again."

In New York, the Knicks are also trying their best to strengthen, but the team has no space at all, so it's just a small fight, nothing big.

At the small forward position, they found the 37-year-old Dale Ellis with the veteran's basic salary. The Nuggets' main forward and guard last season were shocking, averaging 16 points per game, and there is still some fuel.

There is nothing to gain from the point guard position. In the new season, Charlie Ward will be the main point guard.

Jordan analyzed his team's lineup. Of course, the inside line is stronger than the inside teammates he has encountered throughout his career, but the outside line is weaker. The outside defense that the Bulls are proud of can no longer be seen in this Knicks. He can no longer rely on a strong outside defense to block the opponent's outside attack.

When it comes to defense, he feels that even if he is himself, he may have to reduce his defense in the new season. After all, time is not forgiving. Although his physical condition is quite good, he still needs to save a little.

As for the interior, O'Neal is different from the old K. His physical fitness is not as good as the old K. He has always been strong in offense and weak in defense, so Oakley is the main defense in the interior.

Overall, the Knicks' defense is not the best in the league, both inside and outside.

In terms of offense, the five main players, veterans Ellis and Oakley should be able to provide 10+ stably, and Charlie Ward should have no problem providing [-] points. The rest will depend on him and O'Neal.

In this way, the current Knicks are actually similar to the original Bulls. The Bulls rely on him and Pippen, and here they rely on him and O'Neal.

But the difference is that both he and O'Neal can attract double-teams, one inside and one outside, and they can play very well together to open up the opponent's defense, thereby improving the quality of offense.

In particular, O'Neal can provide high-quality low-post offense, which his former post teammates couldn't do at all.

The Bulls lost three times to the Suns in the finals, isn't it because the quality of low-post offense is too poor and too little?
And even if O'Neill's defense is not as good as old K's, with him, it will definitely reduce the quality of old K's offense, and he feels more confident.

"Should be able to compete with the Lakers?"

But thinking of losing one, two, and three, he was a little worried.

"Ah bah, why did you think of this nonsense of old K?" He cursed a little annoyed.

This is not to blame for his lack of confidence. As the God of War, after one loss, two losses and three losses in the finals, there will be psychological shadows, just big or small.

Thinking of this, he called the Knicks general manager Layden and said, "Scott, please give me a copy of the Lakers' current lineup."

"OK."

Layden must be staring at the Lakers every day. He is very familiar with the Lakers lineup. He opened his mouth and said, "Michael, they haven't found the main power forward yet. Apart from Old K, the main power forward should be Chris Mullin. The shooting guard has hired Mitch Richmond, and the point guard is Mark Price. As for the substitutes, there are Kobe and Rick Fox..."

Hearing this, Jordan frowned.

The main lineup of the Lakers, not counting power forwards, is already very strong, no worse than the Knicks. As for the backup lineup, Kobe Bryant hasn't grown up yet, but Rick Fox's strength is good. Combined, he and Chris Mullin are at the small forward position. The Knicks are at a disadvantage.

Layden was still talking about the Lakers' bench list, but there were no good players behind him, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Now the Knicks' bench lineup is still okay, because when he was traded, the Bulls only needed a first-round pick except for Alan Houston, so the lineup was not damaged. Except for the third position, other positions will not be worse than the Lakers, or even stronger.

……

While Jordan was pondering the lineup, Reggie Miller was also discussing the Pacers and Knicks lineups with Ewing.

For the Pacers, the main opponent in the East has changed from the Bulls to the Knicks. Although they are both Jordan's teams, the situation is completely different.

Playing against the Bulls last season, Ewing had an advantage in the paint, but next season against the Knicks, even he would not dare to say that he would be able to play against O'Neal.

On the outside, although Reggie Miller has a bad mouth and never accepts Jordan, in his heart, he does not have the confidence to win against Jordan.

To be precise, he knew that he and Jordan were not on the same level.

However, the team made reinforcements again. Under the operation of Larry Bird, some space was released. The Bulls brought back Rick Schmitz from the disintegration, found a good partner for Ewing, and added a solid substitute lineup. Both of them felt that next season would have a good result.

Reggie Miller said: "Patrick, you and Schmitz teamed up, the offensive end should be stronger than O'Neal and Oakley, what do you think?"

Ewing nodded and said with a smile: "Schmitz can be pulled to a high position. His height, the old man Charles is completely helpless. He is too short, so O'Neal can only follow him. Blow up Charles at the basket, haha!"

Seeing Ewing's rare smile, Reggie Miller's mood also improved, and he said with a smile: "You can play a low-post double-tower combination, and a high-low double-tower tactic. At the same time, we are better than the Knicks as an inside substitute. With Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, and Derek McKay, we will have an advantage in the inside against the Knicks.

Outside, the Knicks' defense is definitely not as strong as the Bulls'. Jordan can't hold on alone, and he is one year older.

And we have several good substitutes on the outside, Hu, Jaylen Rose, they are all good, I believe there will be a good result in the new season. "

"Ah."

Ewing nodded slightly excitedly.

……

Boston, the Celtics, and Danny Ainge are also racking their brains to conceive a lineup.

This season, with the support of the Cardinal, he became the green team's new general manager, but with the Cardinal's retirement, the Green Team's management immediately became chaotic, divided into several factions, and he was a little confused.

There is no way, even with the support of the cardinal, his qualifications are too shallow to hold back those old qualifications, and his position is a bit unstable.

But through a series of transactions, he got four first-round picks, traded in David Robinson, and Kidd, who was originally acquired from the Suns, immediately gave the Green Team the strength to hit the championship. This stabilized his position.

David Robinson, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams, Dino Radia, Kidd, Ron Mercer, Kenny Anderson, Dana Barros and a large number of strong players, he has a lot of confidence in the new season.

David Robinson is sitting opposite him. This super center can't wait for the new season. He rushed to Boston just after completing the transaction. Today he came to discuss the lineup with him.

"David, apart from us in the Eastern Conference, there are the Knicks and the Pacers. I think our three teams will be the first team in the Eastern Conference. Our strength will not lose to them at all." He said confidently.

David Robinson nodded, but said: "Danny, I think the inside line still lacks some thickness, can you strengthen it?"

Danny Ainge said with a headache: "It's difficult, it is said that the Lakers don't even have the main power forward, we still have Dino Radia and Eric Williams.

David, Dino is very good. He can play both positions 35 and 14. Last season, he averaged 8.5 minutes per game, 1.9 points, 19.7 rebounds and 9.8 blocks per game. Last season he even had an All-Star stat of [-]+[-]. Unfortunately, he has some injuries now, but I believe he can help. "

David Robinson nodded. If Radia can maintain the level of last season, it will really help him a lot, just for fear of his injury problems.

……

In the West, Jazz general manager John Morris is also studying the lineup for the new season.

The failure of chasing David Robinson made him lose hope of creating a luxurious inside combination.

In fact, the combination of Campbell and Postman is already considered a first-class inside combination in the league, but the main opponent inside is too strong. The Lakers have the old K, and the Blazers have Big Dream + Duncan. This will be the main opponent in the new season. If the inside cannot beat these two opponents, what is the championship?
He squeezed the quotation in his hand, and after careful consideration, he called his assistant in and told him to send it to the Suns immediately.

He took a fancy to Sabonis, and the bargaining chip was Campbell.

The Jazz was eliminated by the Suns in the Western Conference Finals last season. The main reason is that they did not have high-quality low-post offense. Neither Postman nor Campbell could provide the team with high-quality low-post offense under the defense of Old K and Rasheed Wallace. He wants to change this.

And Sabonis, who is 221 cm tall and weighs as much as 127 kg, should allow him to achieve this goal.

In Phoenix, Colangelo Jr. received two trade offers, one from the Jazz, wanting Sabonis, and the other from the Lakers, wanting Clifford Robinson, and he is considering whether these two deals are feasible.

The Suns now have Sabonis, Clifford Robinson, and Rasheed Wallace on the inside. All three can play the main force, and one can indeed be traded.

The Lakers have no decent bargaining chip, and the Jazz's bargaining chip is Campbell. From an emotional point of view, he is more willing to trade with the Lakers, but from a rational and professional ethics point of view, he is more willing to trade with the Jazz.

However, Campbell's contract is very large, and the annual salary of 700 million is too expensive. This does not meet the current requirements of the Suns to tighten expenses. It is better to keep Sabonis and trade Clifford Robinson.

However, Sabonis only has a one-year contract left, which is 308 million US dollars. If he does not trade out and renew his contract next season, he will definitely be given a big contract of tens of millions, which does not meet the requirements of the current Suns.

The requirement for the current Suns lineup is to try to maintain the strength of the lineup for the playoffs, and at the same time try to reduce the salary burden, try to find some cheap and easy-to-use players, rookies are the best.

So after some consideration, he agreed to the Jazz's deal.

As for the Lakers deal, he didn't agree, because Clifford Robinson's contract is not big, and the Lakers don't have a good bargaining chip.

As for the traded Campbell, he intends to put it on the shelf for sale, and bring in some cheap and easy-to-use players, or change the draft pick.

"Mr. Morris, they agreed."

Jazz headquarters, the door of the general manager's office was pushed open, and the assistant excitedly reported the transaction result to Morris.

"Great!" Morris clenched his fist excitedly.

Strengthening the fifth position, the inside combination of Sabonis and the postman, the Jazz's inside strength should be improved by half a grade, and Sabonis' all-roundness is also good for the improvement of the overall strength of the Jazz. This is a standard reinforcement upgrade.

As for the Jazz's main opponent in the West, the Lakers, Old K has yet to find an inside helper, the combination of Blazers Dream + Duncan. He believes that the combination of the old and the young should not threaten the Jazz. The Jazz will be very hopeful in the new season.

"Ugh!"

At the Lakers headquarters in Los Angeles, West shook his head and was rejected by the Suns again.

"Sir, the Suns put the newly acquired Campbell on the shelf, shall we get him back?" At this time, the assistant opened the door and reported to him.

"Campbell?"

He thought for a moment and shook his head.

What he is looking for is a power forward, and Campbell is a center. It is not cost-effective to put him on the bench, and the salary space cannot afford it.

(End of this chapter)